The Healthy Dog: December 2012

Frequently asked Questions many people
have are answered here.
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Why is oven baking better than Extrusion process
used by other pet foods?

This unique baking process changes the hard-to-digest
molecules of "raw" starches into easy-to-digest dextrines.
This process acts as a "pre-digest" of the kibble food,
resulting in less strain on the
dog's digestive system and allowing a greater degree of food
absorption. A dog's intestinal tract is short; it functions in the
most efficient manner when the food is concentrated and
can be quickly digested.

Furthermore, Extruded products may cause Bloating in dogs.
Bloat is normally caused by an anomaly in the dog's physiological
structure that causes food to expand on the dog's digestive
system without passing through properly into the intestines.
There is no food expansion with Flint River Ranch
oven-baked products.

Try leaving your current pets food in a bowl of water and
see how much it will expand.

What is your Meat or Protein source?

Chicken meat is our base meat source. Lamb and a small amount of
fish have been added to give a more complete array of protein. In
Flint River Ranch, you will see our meats listed as Chicken Meal,
Lamb Meal and Fish Meal. There are NO rendered By-Products,
such as heads, feet, neck, bones, intestines or feathers, in
Flint River Ranch formulas.

What is "Meal"?

Meal means, "reduces in size" - our meal is made from fresh meat
(never by-products) that is cooked; most of the water is removed and
the meat reduced in size and ground. Therefore, if a "meal" ingredient
is listed in the ingredients, even after mixing and cooking, it should
retain its ingredient ranking since most or all of the moisture has
already been removed.

In Flint River Ranch products, you will see Chicken Meal, Lamb Meal,
Fish Meal, etc. It provides the most protein value per volume weight.
This is why our formulas are highly concentrated with quality meat proteins.

Why don't you use "Whole Chicken" like some other
manufacturers?

Remember, the Whole Chicken is not like the chicken you buy in the
grocery store. Whole Chicken labeled for pet food is exactly that - the
whole chicken, including intestines, heads, feet, bones and feathers.

Secondly, the ingredients listing ranks each ingredient by its volume
weight before it is mixed together and cooked with other ingredients.
Therefore, even if Whole Chicken or Chicken is the 1st ingredient listed,
when the cooking process begins most of the water, blood and other
bodily fluids are cooked out...the Result is a much lesser amount of
chicken tissue which remains - that Whole Chicken will not be the
predominant ingredient after cooking down.

Why don't you say you use "Organic Chicken"?

It is possible to put one (1) chicken in 50 tons of food and legally say
we use organic, range fed chicken. Some manufacturers take this
option - we do not. While we purchase as much organic chicken as
possible, we prefer to more correctly say we use human-quality chicken
that is hormone free. As with all of our ingredients, we pay a premium
price for the very best.

What is your grain source?

Our grains are purchased from major commercial (human) food-grade
suppliers like General Mills, Pillsbury, etc. and USDA approved plants
and mills. Ingredients are fully tested and retested when received. This
testing insures the very best quality and reduces the possibility of
(naturally occurring) toxic molds, such as Aflatoxin and Mycotoxins
which are poisonous to pets and animals who ingest them.

Many pet food manufacturers purchase their grains directly from the
farms for the simple reason that it is cheaper. These manufacturers
run the risk of buying lower quality grains, which are not suitable for
human-quality certification, thus raising the potential for toxic mold.

Whole wheat and selected parts of the wheat berry are used as our
base grain. Wheat grains are not only more digestible than corn; it is
one of the most nutritionally balanced cereal grains. It is an easy-to-digest
source of carbohydrates, fiber and energy. Low quality fillers like wood fiber,
corncobs, peanut hulls, cottonseed, straw, soybeans or citrus pulp are not
found in Flint River Ranch products.

What are Chelated Minerals?

Our minerals are Chelated (pronounced kee-lay-ted); minerals which are
bonded or coated with amino acids for better metabolic absorption compared
to regular inorganic minerals found in most pet foods.

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